Work must work
Those who work responsibly should have a living family income in which their earnings – combined with supports for transportation, health care, nutrition, child care, education, housing and other basic needs – provide a decent standard of living. This requires creative thinking about work supports, as well as an increased minimum wage, tax policies that reward work and family stability, ownership and asset creation, job training, and financial education. 9.2 million families (27.4% of all working families) are low-income (earning less than 200% of the federal poverty threshold). Married couples head 53% of these families, single women head 38%. More than 2.5 million working families are below the poverty line.[1]
We should also support and foster work among people without children, and help make sure they have the tools they need to succeed in life. At the same time, those unable to work should be supported with dignity. Many people in our society face serious mental or physical disabilities or other personal circumstances that make it difficult or impossible for them to support themselves or their families without assistance for either short periods of time or permanently. Our churches and the government have an important role to play in meeting their basic needs.
A living family income must ensure a standard of living that fosters security and opportunity for children. This pro-family, pro-work framework represents a combination of personal and social responsibility that makes families both better and stronger.
LEARN MORE:
- State of Poverty Tour
- National Report: Working Hard, Falling Short
- Minimum Wage:
- Earned Income Tax Credit
- Asset Creation
- Family Economic Success
[1] “Working Hard, Falling Short,” Working Poor Families Project of the Annie E. Casey, Ford, and Rockefeller Foundations